Safety for firearms



Oct. 17, 1950 LE ROY B. FRASER 2,525,386

SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Filed July 9, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 17, 1950 LE ROY B. FRASER 2,525,336

SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Filed July 9, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \X\ \T\ \X WM w Patented Oct. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT 2,525,886 SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Le Roy B. Fraser, Woodbridge, Conn. Application July 9, 1945, seria No. 603,891

Claims.

This invention relates to guns and, while it is particularly designed for application to guns for beginners in the use of firearms, it is not necessarily limited in this respect. It also, in some respects, is particularly designed for use with short guns or pistols, but may be applied and used to advantage with shoulder guns as well.

The use of hand guns or pistols is sometimes considered more dangerous than that of long or shoulder guns, and, for this reason, safety devices have, in many instances, been applied to such firearms. While various safety appliances have been provided, such appliances usually are not foolproof in that, while they may, in many instances, prevent accidental discharge of the gun, it is still possible for it to be accidentally discharged with unfortunate results.

I contemplate by the present invention the provision of a gun which will be so constructed so that it cannot be fired without the deliberate intent of the user. In the embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings, this is effected by surrounding the trigger of the firearm with a movable guard, the guard normally standing in such a position that the trigger will be effectively shielded from contact or engagement with any object. Locking or detent means are provided to hold the trigger guard in operative position, which means will be in turn controlled or moved to inoperative position by proper gripping or handling of the gun when its discharge is intended. In addition to shielding the trigger, the guard also prevents actuation of the trigger until moved to its inoperative position.

As illustrated, the trigger guard is normally urged to its operative position by a spring and, after being freed for movement, is raised or moved to expose the trigger by the trigger finger of the user. This produces a steadying eifect of the finger on the trigger, so that a more steady squeezing action of the finger on the trigger is obtained, and thus the technique of the shooting of the gun is improved. Thus the advantage arising from the use of the invention lies not only in the safety feature, but also in the fact that it trains a beginner in the proper technique of firing the gun.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved safety feature for guns.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gun which may not be fired without the deliberate intent of the user.

Still another object of the invention is to provide firearm which will be useful inteachingtobeginners the proper handling of a gun in shooting.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a hand gun or pistol embodying my improvements; 1

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the portion of the gun adjacent the trigger;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the trigger guard and retaining or detent member in a diiierent position; c

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevational view of a shoulder gun or rifle equipped with my. invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of the gun shown in Fig. 4, showing the parts in another position;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of a shoulder gun having a trigger guard embodying my invention, which guard is controlled in a different manner; v

Fig. '7 is a View, partly in section, of the gun shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. '7;

Ihave shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings a pistol or hand gun comprising a frame portion l0, s

barrel II, and a grip i2. portion of the gun and projecting therefrom is a trigger I3 provided with a guard designated generally by the numeral M, the guard being secured to the frame at its forward end by a screw l5 or some similar retaining member. The guard M is of channel or U-shaped form in cross section and extends rearwardly to receive between its side walls the outer portion of the trig- I ger I3. The member I4 may also be provided with a bottom wall l6 which i sprovided with an opening i1 through which the lower portion of' I the trigger may project when the guard is raised Pivoted in the frame abaasee in Fig. 2, so that it will positively prevent the trigger being pulled rearwardly. Thus the guard not only shields the trigger and prevents the engagement of the finger or other object with the trigger, but also by the engagement of the rear wall back of the trigger prevents movement of the latter. If necessary, the upper portion of the trigger may be cut away or recessed slightly as shown at l9 so that it may have sufiicient movement or travel to fire the gun when the guard is in its raised or inoperative position as shown in Fig. 3.

While the trigger guard is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by the inherent resilience of the portion it, means are provided-for looking or retaining the guard in this position except when the gun is intended to be fired. A detent or retaining member is pivoted to the grip portion of the gun at 25, this member having a, iqserq o 2!. de n d aae ve. a sh ulde ro e ion Qni i er. a so as to prevent upward movement ofthelatter. 'I he retaining member is also providedjwith. a body portio-n 2 3 which extends downwardly along the forwardface of the grip, l2, and aspring 24. mounted in the grip, bears against thebody portion 23 to normally hold the latter forwardly and hold the nose portion in engagement with the trigger guard. The. grip portion of the gun is provided with a recess 25' toreceivetheportion 23 eithegetaining member, when the fingers of the user, grip thegunandsqueeze the part 23 toward the grip. This position ofptheparts is shown in Fig, 3, where it will benoted the detent or nose portion 2] of the retainingmember has. been moved. downwardly and rearwardly so it no longer engagsthe shoulder 22. on the trigger guard.

The normal position of the parts is shown in Fig. 2 where, as will be apparent, the guard embraces the triggerand prevents engagement of anypbiecttherewith and also prevents the rearward movement of the trigger, the guardbeing retained in this position by the detent 2| of the retaining member. When the user desires to fire thegunand grasps the grip I2 .in hishand in position for firing, his fingers will extend around theforward portion of. the grip and squeeze the body portion 23 of the retaining member into therecess zb, thus releasing .the nose El .from the shoulder 22. The trigger finger of the user is then drawn rearwardly and upwardly along the lower wall .i 50f the guard, thus moving the uard. upwardly against the tension of the spring portionJF'i from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown inFig. 3. The pressureof the guard on the finger willv bring about a steadying action, so that, as the finger is drawn. rearwardly along the, lower surface, of the guard, it will contact thetrigger by a steady squeezing movement and result in more accurate. marksmanship. Thus, while theirnproved trigger guard. is useful as a. safety device, it will also improvethe technique of the userof the gun...

In- Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, I have shown my invention as applied to a shoulder firearm. In this case, the guard M which is constructed ina manner generally similar to the guard 14, is pivoted.- to the forearm of. the gun at 30. The rear portion of the forearm may be provided with arecess 3|. to receive the guard, when it is raised to expose the trigger 32 as shown in Fig. 5. In this, case, it will be noted that the guard is relatively wide or deep and covers substantially theentire trigger, a construction which is possible when the frame or forearm of the gun may be 4 recessed as at 3| to receive the guard. A spring 33 normally urges the guard downwardly to its operative position, the spring acting against laterally turned lugs 34 at the upper edges of the side walls of the guard. A retaining or detent member 35 is pivoted at 36 adjacent the grip of the gun, this member engaging a shoulder 31 on the guard as described in connection with the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. The retaining member 35. is normally. held in its operative position by the spring 38 acting against the tail portion 39 which is adapted to be received in a recess 40 in the grip of the gun when it is grasped by the user in the normal way in which a gunwould be held when it is to be fired.

The operation of the modification of my device shown in Figs. .4. and 5 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, and detailed description of the operation, therefore, will-mot be necessary. When the. guard is unlocked by' the gripping ofthe gun 111' the normal way, it may b'eraised by the trig r finger of; the user: being drawn rearwardly'withslight upwardpressure along the lower portion of the guard; thus: raisin the lattermember irom the position shown in'Fig. 4 to thatshown in Fig. 5 in which position the; trigger finger may engage and squeeze the trigger rearwardly to' discharge the gun. l y

In Figs. 6' to 9 of the drawings; 1- have shown a shoulder firearm equippedwith-'a-trigger guard embodying my invention, the guard; however, be;- ing controlled; in a different manner. In my previous Patent No: 2122, 115, granted July'5; 1938, I have illustratedya-gun so -constructed that it may not be'dischargeduntil the required shoul der and check pressuresare exerted-upon it bythe user. In other words, if a shoulder gun is' held properly, it will be'pressed firmly against the shoulder of the user, and-also the-cheek of the user will be pressed againstthe side of the stock'. The principle, developedin the patent referred to; of preventing the discharge of the-firearmuntilitis properly'h'eldandgrasped by-th'e user is, in this modificationof the presentinvention, applied to the movable; trigger guard, so that the latter is not releaseduntilthe proper shoulder and cheek pressures haveb'een exerted.-

As shown in Figs. 6-to 9 of the drawings, the stock 45- of the gun providedwith a reduced rear portion or-post 46; and slidably telescoped over this post is a supplementalstoek or'sleeve portion 41 held-in placeby-th'e butt IS-"secured to post 46. Upon therear-end-o-f thep'ost' lfi is secured a plate 4}) in which isthreadedly mounted a screw 50 passing 'lco'sel'ythrough an opening 5| in the butt 4B, the head ofth'e screw being disposed in a recess -52. A spring 53*is mounted upon the'screw betweenthe plate 49 and the butt 48, thus normallyholding the latter ina rearward. or extendd positi'o n. Pressure; how ever, of the butt 48 against the shoulderwill' move the butt 48 forwardly in opposition to the-pres sure of the spring, and, as the buttrestsagainst the rear end of the portion 47, this will-alsomove the latter forwardly -with' respect-to the-post.- The butt 48 may begui'ded.in its,movement by dowel pins 54 secured to the butt and 'slidably mountedin openings 55 in-the post.-

As shownin Fig.9, the opening 56inthe sup= plemental stock; portion 41- is somewhat larger than the post 46, especially: at the upper edge ofthe latter, so that the memberfl may be rotated or pivotally moved to a slight extent with respect to the post." Agpivot. pin 51 is secured to the plate 49'at"on'e end and at its other end is supported by the butt 48. A bracket 58 is loosely mounted on this pivot pin and secured to the stock member 41. a compression spring 59 acting between the plate 49 and the bracket 58. This spring tends to hold the member 41 in! a rearward position against the butt 48 and also serves as one of two pivotal mounting'slfor the stock portion 41. The other pivotal mounting is constituted by the rod 60 secured to theestock portion 41 and rotatably mounted at its forward end at 6| in the stock 45. Aspring 52 surrounds this rod and normally urges the stock member 41 rearwardly toward the butt. Pressure of the check against the member 41 may swing the stock in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig.

9 to its dotted line position about the pivot-pins 51 and 60. This, however, does not move the'butt 48 as the latter is secured to the post 46 and not to the member 41.

Pivoted at 63 to the post 45 is a lever 64, the lever being normally held in the position shown in Fig. 8 by a compression spring 65. Adjacent the rear end of this lever is a lug 61 normally spaced slightly forwardly of a lug 68 on the movable stock portion 41. In the normal position of the parts, the lug 68 does not engage the lug 61. However, when the gun is pressed against the shoulder, and the butt 48 and sleeve member 41 are moved forwardly, the lug 68 will be moved forwardly and will be in position to engage the lug 61 when the sleeve portion 64 is given a rotating movement by check pressure. Therefore, by a combination of shoulder pressure and cheek pressure, the lever 64 will be moved in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 8.

The lever 64 extends forwardly through the grip portion of the gun and is provided with a laterally turned portion 59 at its forward end designed to overlie the horizontal portion of an L-shaped lug 10 at the rear end of a trigger guard 1i pivoted at 12 to the forearm of the gun and normally held in a downward position by the spring 13 acting against inturned lugs 14. It will be understood that this trigger guard and its operation are similar to the construction and operation of the trigger guard shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In the normal position of the parts, the forward end 69 of the lever 84 holds the trigger guard downwardly in the position in Fig. 7, which not only prevents engagement of the trigger by the finger of the user, but also, by engagement of the rear wall 15 with the trigger 16, blocks the trigger against movement. When, however, the gun is pressed against the shoulder, thus moving the sleeve portion 41 forwardly and is also engaged by the cheek with sufficient pressure to rotate the portion 41 about the pivot pins 51 and 60, the lug 68 will be caused to engage lug 61 and swing the lever 64 in a counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 8, to as to remove the end 69 of this lever from engagement with the portion 10 of the trigger guard, and thus permit the latter to be moved upwardly by pressure of the trigger finger of the user thereagainst. Therefore, the trigger guard is in locked position until the proper shoulder and cheek pressures are applied to the gun. When the cheek and shoulder pressures are released, the portion 41 will be moved pivotally to its normal position by the spring 65 and will be moved rearwardly against the butt 48 by the springs 59 and 52, the butt, of course, being returned by the spring 53.

While I have shown and described some pre- What I claim isi fil -5. a fir a m,. a. ram a 1 tri er. ivot thereto, a guard member for the. triggeradapted to normallyembrace the latter, means movably connectingsaid'guard'memberto the frame to swing toward and from theframe about ;an' axis transverse to the plane of movement .'of the trigger, means normally urging; said member away from the frame to 'aposition in which it shields the trigger againstengagement by the finger, said member when in said position preventing operation of the triggen: and .retaining means to prevent movement of said member toward the frame and away from shielding position.

2. In a firearm, a frame, a trigger pivoted thereto, a guard member for the trigger adapted to normally embrace the latter, means movably connecting said guard member to the frame to swing toward and from the frame about an axis transverse to the plane of movement of the trigger, means normally urging said member away from the frame to a position in which itshields the trigger against engagement by the finger, said member when in said position preventing operation of the trigger, and retaining means to prevent movement of said member toward the frame and away from shielding position, said retaining means being controlled by the gripping of the firearm by the user.

3. A firearm comprising a frame, a grip, a trigger pivoted to the frame and extending below the same, a guard member hinged to the frame I member downwardly away from the frame to shielding position, said member having a part disposed rearwardly of the trigger to prevent movement of the latter.

4. A firearm comprising a frame, a grip, a trigger pivoted to the frame and extending below the same, a guard member hinged to the frame forwardly of the trigger to move about an axis transversely to the plane of movement of the triggerand formed to embrace the latter and shield it against engagement by the finger of the user, spring means normally urging said member downwardly away from the frame to shielding position, said member having a part disposed rearwardly of the trigger to prevent movement of the latter, a detent member normally engaging said part, and means movably mounting said detent member to permit it to be moved to disengaging position.

5. A firearm comprising a frame, a grip, a trigger pivoted to the frame and extending below the same, a guard member hinged to the frame forwardly of the trigger to move about an axis transversely to the plane of movement of the trigger and formed to embrace the latter and shield it against engagement by the finger of the user, spring means normally urging said member downwardly away from the frame to shielding position, said member having a part disposed rearwardly of the trigger to prevent movement of the latter, a detent member normally engaging said part, "means movably mounting said detent member to permit it to be moved to disengaging position, and said detent member having a part disposed adjacent the grip of the firearm to be controlled by a finger of the user.

LE ROY B. FRASER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 834,772 Tambour Oct. 30, 1906 920,682 Stephan May 4, 1909 932,183 Schwarzlose Aug. 24, 1909 955,237 Wescott et a1 Apr. 19, 1910 965,386 Hansen July 26, 1910 1,070,965 Jones Aug. 19, 1913 Number Number 15 9 2 1 227,07 7 100,975 

